With four games remaining on its Section 2-AAAA schedule, the Gateway varsity boys basketball team is in control of its own destiny for the title.

A 63-50 victory over Franklin Regional on Tuesday put the Gators at 9-1 in section play, and every other team in the standings has at least two losses.

Gateway plays at Fox Chapel on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in a rematch of a close 40-38 Gators win on Jan. 8.

The Gators then will look for the sweep of Plum on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Plum High School.

The first meeting between the Mustangs and the Gators on Dec. 21 went down to the wire before Gateway pulled out a 38-36 triumph on a last-second shot.

The Gators pay a visit to Pittsburgh Central Catholic on Tuesday before finishing up its section slate at home against McKeesport on senior night Feb. 8.

“Every game from here on out is a big game in this section,” Gateway head coach Mitch Adams said.

“All I know is we've got four left, and we need to win four. If we win four, we control our own destiny. I don't like to rely on others to get the job done for us. We've tried that before, and it's not good.”

Fox Chapel and Pittsburgh Central Catholic both won on Tuesday, and both upped their section records to 9-2.

McKeesport edged Woodland Hills, 73-70, on Tuesday to move to 8-3 in section.

Plum, now 4-6 in section play, lost to Central Catholic on Tuesday, and coupled with McKeesport's win, the Mustangs were eliminated from playoff contention.

McKeesport swept Plum, and the Tigers own the tiebreaker if it would come into play at the end of the section slate.

Gateway entered Tuesday's game with Franklin Regional in search of a positive outcome after what Adams characterized as a frustrating 59-56 loss to Upper St. Clair on Sunday at the Pittsburgh Basketball Classic at La Roche College.

“We didn't play good defense against Upper St. Clair, and they hit those 10 3-pointers,” Adams said.

“We were able to correct that problem.”

Franklin Regional drained four 3-pointers against Gateway, but only one came in the second half.

The Gators countered with five 3-pointers of their own, including a pair of big buckets from behind the arc from senior point guard D.J. Boyce.

Both of Boyce's threes came late in the third quarter and helped Gateway open a 47-38 lead heading into the final stanza.

Gateway turned up the defensive pressure in the fourth quarter and forced eight Franklin Regional turnovers.

“We were able to be athletic tonight,” Adams said.

“There's no secret to our success. We have to play defense and use our athleticism. If we do that, we're going to get our transition game going. We're a much better team when we are in transition.”

Junior Delvon Randall led Gateway with 16 points.

He came out and tallied seven points in the first quarter and finished with two of Gateway's five 3-pointers.

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